


Bughead Frankenfic

by AquaMarinara, Ithoughtyoulikedmereckless, Mieteve_Minijoma, sullypants



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Archie's missing, Chaos Ensues, F/M, Mystery solving, So thats fun, a mishmash of creativity, core four live together, magic ensues, no really sure what's going on, there's a duckling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 3,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24629065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquaMarinara/pseuds/AquaMarinara, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ithoughtyoulikedmereckless/pseuds/Ithoughtyoulikedmereckless, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mieteve_Minijoma/pseuds/Mieteve_Minijoma, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sullypants/pseuds/sullypants
Summary: When Jughead climbs through the apartment window, duck and hand and no Archie, the girls have a of of questions. The more that's explained, the more questions there are. The only thing that's known for certain is that Archie is missing and they have a duckling in his place.(This is a collaboration amongst many writers in the fandom, it is unfinished and I will be adding chapters as more authors add onto the story!)
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. Ithoughyoulikedmereckless (@ithoughtyoulikedmereckless)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Each chapter will be titled as the author who wrote that particular section. I have made as many of the authors co-creators as I could so that everyone's wonderful ideas are credited. Let me know if there is a better way that this could be organized! If you want to see the original post, head over to my tumblr: ithoughtyoulikedmereckless and search for the #bugheadfrankensteinfic.
> 
> hope you enjoy the creative genius of everyone:)
> 
> -rachel

Betty and Veronica are sitting on their couch in front of a fire in the fireplace, wine glasses in hand and The Notebook queued up on their TV. Archie and Jughead had spent the day together and had plans to stay out late, so B and V had a rare evening to themselves. 

As Veronica goes to press play, there’s a commotion outside the living room window. With their mouths hanging open, they watch Jughead haul the window open from the outside, clambering in and falling into their apartment. 

Leaning over to Veronica, Betty whispers in her ear, “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

Veronica just nods, still staring at Jughead while he rises to his feet, dirt covering his shoes and his hands cradling something Betty can’t quite make out. 

“Okay…just checking.” Both girls sit in silence, trying in vain to figure out what to unpack about this scenario first.

Meanwhile, Jughead still seems to be unaware of their presence since he tries to tiptoe down the hallway to his bedroom. 

Betty calls to him in faux nonchalance “Excuse me…Mister.”

He stops dead in his tracks, body tensing as he slowly turns round. Now that he’s fully facing the girls, Betty can see a fluffy yellow duckling is in his hands. 

Betty’s brows turn up in confusion, eyes squinting him down. “Where’d you get that duck, Jug?”

Veronica pipes in, equally as confused. “And where’s Archie?”

All color leaves Jughead’s face, and he squeezes the duck tighter, making it quack in reply. 

He opens his mouth a few times seemingly trying to gather his bearings. “It’s not what it looks like, I promise.”

There’s still space between them, Betty’s sure they could fill that space with everything she doesn’t know about the situation. “You know, I’m not really sure what I’m looking at.”

Veronica crosses her arms in front of her chest. “And you still haven’t told us where Archiekins is.” 

Jughead shifts on his feet. “Well…you see…I might have—traded Archie?” He lifts up the duck to his face. “For the duck?”

“Sit and start from the  _ very  _ beginning.”


	2. Aquamarinara (@writeraquamarinara)

The very beginning includes his bedroom door slamming open way too early, blinds drawn to reveal beams of tangerine sunlight, and him turning around in his bed with a groan.

If he’s being honest, the very beginning includes agreeing to go hiking with Archie, and then immediately regretting it.

(At least it wasn’t camping–Jughead knew not to agree to that anymore, not after last time’s close encounter with one too many garter snakes.)

“Up and at ‘em, Jug,” Archie encourages, rattling his best friend awake. “I packed our bags last night. We’re good to go.”

“I’m not,” Jughead grumbles, forearm covering his eyes.

“You agreed, though,” Archie whines. Even without looking, Jughead can picture the pout on his best friend’s lips.

“I did, didn’t I?” he asks, a rhetorical question, before resignedly sitting up in bed.

Beaming a smile, Archie pats him on the back. “Good, because Betty made us a quick breakfast, and you wouldn’t want to miss that.” He winks, teasing, and Jughead suddenly feels too hot.

“Could’ve led with that,” he responds coolly, though he knows Archie isn’t buying his nonchalance.

“Thought you might want to know that she’s up before you walk out of your room looking like,” Archie waves at Jughead’s general state, continues whispering, “well, like that.”

Jughead runs a hand through his hair, then grabs his beanie off the nightstand, settling it firmly on his head.

“Thanks for the heads up, man,” he comments as Archie walks out of the room.

The very beginning includes some camaraderie, a quick shower, and dressing for a trek in the woods. Jughead doesn’t tell the girls any of that. Instead, he sets the duckling down in the apartment’s bathtub, and returns to the living room after having gathered his thoughts. He drops into an armchair, exhausted, and Veronica’s eyebrow raises.

“It’s all because of your pancakes, Betts,” he starts to explain.


	3. sullypants (@sullypants)

Betty wrinkles her brow, confused. This is unexpected.

Jughead inhales deeply, drags his hat off and lets his head fall back onto the chair before he continues.

“You left me to flip the pancakes when the door rang, right?”

(Betty nods in agreement.)

“Well, I burned two of them before you came back, and buried them in the trash so you wouldn’t know.”

Betty gasps and narrows her eyes at him. “I knew I smelled something burning when I came back.” She raises her hand and points her index finger at him, Veronica watching it all unfold like a tennis match.

Jughead holds his hands out in supplication. 

“Yes, I am sorry. I burned the pancakes and then hid them,” he confesses. “I am sorry about that, but…”

He trails off, clearly unsure how to continue.

Betty prompts him.

“What does that have to do with—”

Before she can continue, there’s a quack and a squawk from the bathroom, and Jughead gasps.

“Junior!”

He’s up and disappearing into the bathroom before Betty even realizes what’s happening. 

She whips around to look at Veronica, and as one they jump up and follow.


	4. Smudge (@thetaoofbetty)

“Elizabeth Marie,” Veronica hisses, grabbing her arm to hold her still, “he’s named it. You know what happens when you name things.” 

“That’s not even her middle name, Veronica,” Jughead calls out, his voice tired to Betty’s ears all the way from the bathroom.

“I know that!” Veronica looks at Betty offended. “Does he think I don’t know that?!” 

Betty shakes her head, following Jughead through the doorway. “I feel like the duck, and possibly Archie’s whereabouts, is what we should be worrying about right now.”

With Veronica hot on her heels, she stops short once she sees Jughead sitting on the edge of the tub, holding the little yellow duckling. 

“He’s cute though, Veronica,” Betty admits, leaning against the sink. “Look at his little yellow tail feathers.” 

“Are you objectifying my duckling?” 

“Yes,” Veronica replies pushing past Betty. “She is. And we cannot have a duck instead of Archie. I at least know how to feed him! What do ducks even eat? Oh god, what if they eat goldfish and then we need to feed it live animals? You cannot keep this duck, Bettykins.” 

“Veronica,” Jughead says calmly, covering the duckling’s ears, “you’re going to give him a complex.”

“How did you trade Archie for the duck—” 

“Junior,” he interrupts, handing the little yellow ball of fluff to her. 

“Junior,” Betty concedes, gently cradling the duck to her chest. “How did this happen?”

Jughead sighs, his shoulders slumping forward. “In my defense, I just want to say that Archie was almost totally fine with it.” 

Crossing her arms and tapping her shoe against the floor, Veronica pins him with a narrowed stare. “Almost totally?” 

“Pretty sure.” He winces from the heat of her glare and refuses to meet Betty’s amused eyes. “But, it’s really not my fault—” 

“Spit it out, Jughead,” Veronica demands with an arched eyebrow. 

He takes a deep breath before giving her a nod, reaching to take Junior from Betty before continuing. “Did you know there are bears in Riverdale?”


	5. bestpillowtalkever (@bugheadsextape)

“We’re in upstate New York, Jughead,” Veronica says, unimpressed. “Bears aren’t exactly breaking news.”

“I know that. But, the ones in Riverdale, they’re… they’re different,” he tells her, seeming mystefied. 

“What do you mean, Jug?” Betty asks, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He looks from her hand to her face before the duckling attempts to lurch from his hands. “Oop,” he says, trying to keep him in his grasp. 

“It’s okay, Junior,” Betty says in her sweetest voice that she saves for babies and puppies. She brushes a finger along the soft fur of his head. “Juggie’s got you.”

“Not that you two playing house with the duck isn’t adorable, but will someone please tell me what happened to Archie?” Veronica exclaims.

“Sorry,” Jughead quickly apologizes with a blush. “So, there were these bears. I swear I’ve seen them before. When I was a kid. In the woods. And, I thought… well, I guess over time I just thought I must have imagined them. I don’t know if she has them trained? Or, if…”

“Oh my god, trained bears? Were you and Archie snorting fizzle rocks this morning?!” Veronica asks in outrage.

“What? No. You don’t snort-“ He stops himself before continuing, “Doesn’t matter. We weren’t on drugs. We were just hiking, which was all Archie’s idea to begin with. I’d like to remind everyone. So, these bears come out of nowhere. Archie was ready to fight them off with his bare hands-“

“That does sound like my Archiekins,” Veronica sighs, bringing a hand to her heart. 

“Yeah, so at that point I was pretty sure we were done for,” he admits.

“Did you not trust Archie’s boxing skills, Jughead?” she asks, sounding offended on his behalf.

“They were bears, Veronica,” he snaps in response. 

“Excuse me, have you not taken notice of his flawless physique and rippling pectorals?” Veronica asks indignantly.

“Would you two please watch your tone? You’re going to upset Junior,” Betty says, still stroking his head. 

“Thank you, Betty. You are so right.” He ignores Veronica’s look of annoyance and continues, “Anyway, we never found out whether or not Archie could take on the bears in a fight, though my money’s on the bears personally but that’s beside the point, because they didn’t attack or anything. They just… led us through the forest.”

“What do you mean they led you through the forest?” Veronica hisses.

“Tone, V,” Betty reminds her with raised eyebrows.

“I mean,” she rolls her eyes before asking in a cheerful voice, “Whatever could you mean by that, dear Jughead? Why in god’s name would you follow notoriously violent animals through the forest?”

“That’s the weird part! I… I don’t really know…” He trails off with a look of confusion. 

“You said she before,” Betty prompts. “When you first told us about the bears, you said that she’s probably trained them. Who were you talking about? Who is she?”

“Well, that’s the thing, Betty, she….” He looks up at her with an unreadable expression. “She looked just like you.”


	6. stonerbughead (@stonerbughead)

“Jughead,” Veronica snaps.

He looks up, face guilty, from where he’d been, admittedly, watching Betty stroke Junior, who already appears more at home in Betty’s arms than she had in Jughead’s during the journey back to the apartment. But then again…

“What do you mean, she looked like Betty?” Veronica repeats. 

Betty blushes at the mention of her name, staring between Veronica and Jughead with a curious look. Jughead is honestly surprised she’s managed to stay so calm, though he can’t help but notice that stroking the duckling mimics the same repetitive motion of Betty tugging at her ponytail or pressing her nails into her palm when she thinks no one’s watching.

“I don’t know how else to explain it,” he says, watching Betty even as he can feel Veronica’s eyes on him as if they’re actually burning his skin.

“Just try to describe her,” Betty says calmly and Veronica whips her head around to stare incredulously at Betty.

“I don’t know how you can stay calm at a time like this!” she says to her best friend, voice full of desperate passion. “Your pseudo-boyfriend traded my poor Archiekins for a duckling!”

Betty and Jughead both blush at “pseudo-boyfriend” but Betty remains steadfast. “That’s not gonna help us get Archie back,” she says. “What will help is if Jughead can describe the girl who looked like me.” 

Veronica stomps her foot but seemingly concedes, watching Jughead angrily.

“She…” Jughead tries to choose his words carefully. “She was wearing this…weird crown made of twigs. She had blonde hair like you, but she wore it down. And a long blue cape.”

Betty’s eyes widen with recognition. “What, Betty?” Veronica says, her voice already fearful again.

“I’ve…I think I’ve seen her before.”

“Where?” Jughead asks, though he’s afraid of the answer.

Betty sighs. “We have to go to Thornhill.”


	7. smugheadjonesthethird (@smughheadjonesthethird)

“I never liked that place,” Jughead says after a deep, steadying breath.

“What do you mean you’ve seen her before?” Veronica asks. “Are you sure you weren’t looking in a mirror?”

Betty looks up and raises her eyebrow at her friend. “Very funny, V,” she says carefully handing an almost sleeping Junior back to Jughead. “I don’t own a blue cape. If I did, you surely would have thrown it out by now,” she chuckles.

“Okay, but why Thornhill?” Jughead asks, trying his best to keep his fuzzy duckling calm and sleepy.

“Do you remember when we were kids and my parents left for that month long “writing” retreat?” Betty asks Jughead. That was really a couple’s counseling retreat, but we all know how Alice feels about her public image, she thinks.

“Yeah,” he says slowly, trying to find where she’s going before she gets to her point.

“I stayed with the Blossoms, before this town went into a full-tilt into chaos.”

“Wait, this town was normal?” Veronica asks, more to herself, but the interruption distracts Betty, causing her to laugh.

A small quack from Junior brings them back to the task at hand.

“Right, yes. So, we all know Thornhill is creepy. I was wandering the grounds one night around dusk to take a break from Cheryl’s non-stop chatter. I got pretty far into the woods before the sun went down. I kept seeing something in the corner of my eye, but whenever I looked, there was nothing there.”

They all filter out of the bathroom, back downstairs to pack some essentials before heading to Thornhill.

“I kept hearing twigs snapping, but I always assumed it was deer or another woodland creature. Until,” Betty pauses, a little for dramatic effect and a little to steady herself.

“Until?” Jughead goads. “Do you still have caramel’s carrier? We can use it for Junior,” he asks, almost dropping Junior as he flails in his hands.

“I turned around to head back to the manor, but when I turned around there she was,” Betty says, pulling the hard plastic from the top shelf of the living room closet.

“There who was?” Veronica asks, searching for where she had left her keys.

“The woman Jughead was talking about – The Gryphon Queen.”


	8. Mieteve_Minijoma (@mieteve-minijoma)

“The Gryphon Queen? You can’t be serious, B! That’s a myth, a stupid story based on a dumb game! It’s make-believe.” Veronica huffs, clearly frustrated.

“I don’t think she is though, V! Look, I know what I saw and if Juggie saw her too then it must be true,” Betty pauses, looking at Jughead for confirmation. “Right?”

“Well, she did look exactly like the drawings I’ve seen of her in my Dad’s G&G handbook, so I think so, Betts.” Veronica rolls her eyes at them before she concedes. 

“Okay, so let’s say for a minute I even -remotely- consider that the stories are true, what now? Isn’t she supposed to be some high level witch or priestess or--”

“Enchantress,” Betty and Jughead say in unison, correcting her. 

“Enchantress, whatever. Regardless, it’s not like we can just look up her number online and set up a meeting! And that still doesn’t explain why this one...” she says, jetting her thumb toward Jughead, “...traded my boyfriend like a bag of magic beans!”

“Look, I’m sorry, okay! But it’s not my fault, she just--” Jughead stops, cursing under his breath at his slip. Betty and Veronica’s gazes both focus in on him as Junior starts to squawk uncontrollably.

“She just what?” Veronica asks slowly, narrowing her eyes. Junior’s squawking grows louder as the duckling squirms in Jughead’s hands. He grumbles before he brings animal eye level and stares at it. 

“Look, I gotta tell them everything or we won’t ever fix this, okay?” Jughead grits, giving the duckling a stern look. Both girls look at each other in confusion before Betty turns to Jughead. 

“Tell us what, Jug?” she asks, her eyebrows knitting together. 

“Okay, I’ll tell you but you have to swear, no matter how strange this sounds, that you won’t think I’m crazy or laugh at me.” They nod in agreement and Jughead sighs, looking down at Junior as he speaks, “Have you guys ever seen the movie ‘Freaky Friday’?”

“What does that have to do with-- Wait? Are you saying that Junior and Archiekins--?” Veronica’s eyes grew wide as her question hung in the air. “You let her turn Archie into a duck!?”

“No! Well, not exactly, see-- Betty? Who are you calling?” Jughead asks, watching her pace back and forth as she holds the phone to her ear.

“My cousin in Greendale, she’s kind of an expert in--” Betty stops as the call connects and pulls her attention away, “Hey... yeah, I know, it has. Too long. Look, um, I know we haven’t talked much in a bit but I think my friends and I might need your help, Sabrina.”


	9. mrscolesprouse (@mrscolesprouse)

As Betty hangs up the call and puts her phone into her pocket, she turns her attention back to Veronica and Jughead who began bickering while she was on the phone.  
“Stop, bickering isn’t going to get us anywhere.” 

Veronica turns to Betty, “I knew Riverdale had some messed up shit happen here but come on, a Gryphon Queen who looks like Betty? Trained bears? Archie turning into a duck?! And what are we going to find by going to Thornhill?”

Betty sighs and walks them to her car, gesturing them to get in and then getting in herself. Jughead (and the duck) get into the front seat next to her, with Veronica sitting in the back. Betty starts the engine and then begins to drive before she talks, “Nothing. We’re not going to Thornhill. We’re going to go see my cousin. She’s big on magic...witch stuff.”

Veronica scoffs, “Witch stuff? Witches? We’re adding witches to the list of stuff that’s absurd about Riverdale?”

Betty mutters quietly, “Well, technically it’s Greendale.”

Jughead snorts and Veronica shoots a glare at him from her place in the back. Jughead hunches in his seat, pulling the duck into his chest.

Veronica sighs loudly, “Jughead, can you tell us what happened after the...bears...led you to this Gryphon Queen? And how this has anything to do with why Archie is a duck?”

Junior (or Archie) quacks in reference to him.Jughead sits up and holds onto the duck tighter, “Okay, so things are a bit fuzzy here. She’s an enchantress, remember?”  
“So what, she threw her magic powers on you for no reason? And you said you weren’t high?” Says the raven-haired girl.

“We weren’t high Veronica!” Jughead looks down to his best friend and he quacks up at him. The duck tilts his head and Jughead raises his eyebrow, caught in some sort of wordless conversation. Jughead sighs, “Your lovely boyfriend here, kind of...provoked her.”

The duck quacks loudly and Jughead looks back down at him, “Come on, you did! You’re a duck!” 

Betty exhales shortly, “What do you mean provoke?”

“The bears kind of, caved in around us, and Archie, still thinking he could beat them all up, kind of fought back.” 

“Goddamnit, Archie,” Betty mutters.

Veronica, now tired of all this, sighs once again, “So, this bitch Freaky Fridayed his ass and swapped a duck into Archie and Archie into a duck? Does that mean Archie’s walking around here somewhere acting like a duck?” 

Jughead looks down at Archie again and bares his teeth, “Yeah...”

“Don’t worry. Sabrina will help,” Betty reassures before driving faster.


End file.
